We wondered
As we walked down the boat ramp
On the Wisconsin side
And saw the sign that said, ‘Nevers Landing’:
Where was the platform
On the Minnesota side
that we had stood on so many times
looking at this spot
wondering what it was like over here
and why couldn’t we see it?

And we heard the voice of a lady
walking up behind us
with a seven year old boy
maybe six
She was counting
. . . 27,28,29,30. It’s only 30!
She said to her son
She was counting the slats on the ramp
I’m not sure if slats is the right word
Cement rows? Ramp steps?

And then she looked at us
I was pleased that she was so generous
And said,
Cheerfully
‘Yesterday the water was only up to 36!’
So the water had risen that much only since last night!

We looked and saw that
Indeed
Many of the bases of the trees were under water
And the river seemed to be flowing very fast.

Since she was so forthcoming with this information
We asked her if it was possible to see the platform on the other side
Oh yes!
And she pointed up the road and told us that
“only half a block”
I felt it slightly ironic that she was using city terms
in this natural area
away was a path you could walk out to a point and see it easily
Normally
she explained
You could walk straight there
but not with this flooding

So we thanked her and soon found ourselves on a
suspiciously straight
ridge
similar to that which we’d walked on several times on the other side
Was this one engineered, as well?
we’d never have had a clue that it was there
except for the advice
of a mom we had never met before.
and soon
there it was
we saw the platform
familiar and distant.
All the way across the non-Jordan river.

It was equally as impossible to get there
now that we were here
As it was to get here when we were there.